


Within Smoke and Rain

by Requiem_Ace



Series: Dystopians Under Lock and Key (Akudama Drive) [1]
Category: Akudama Drive (Anime)
Genre: Akudama, F/M, Falling In Love, Inner Dialogue, Slight spoilers, Slow Build, Smoking, Spoilers, Understanding, altering the scene a little bit, but all in all its still the same, spoilers after episode 4
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:54:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28124208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Requiem_Ace/pseuds/Requiem_Ace
Summary: Staring into the unbelievable beauty of light, Swindler stared awestruck at the casting sun; Courier couldn't bother with the sun when her face radiated brighter.❥ Akudama Drive © Tomohisa Taguchi and Kazutaka Kodaka❥ Check it out! The anime's amazing!
Relationships: Courier/Ordinary | Swindler (Akudama Drive)
Series: Dystopians Under Lock and Key (Akudama Drive) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2060394
Comments: 2
Kudos: 46





	1. Silence Within Smoke and Rain

**Author's Note:**

> Swindler's Point of View

Her pink orbs met his purple, apathetic ones.

The same apathetic look he spared her the first time they met around that takoyaki store; the reason she ended up in this situation to begin with. Then again, it wasn't like this whole meeting was set up. Just some horrible luck on her end and a huge coincidence on his.

 _Dropped money is bad luck_ , was what he told her before he left her in the dust, coin in hand that day. She wasn't sure if that bad luck just went to her instead or, again, a huge coincidence that led to now. God, and all she wanted to do was lay back at home and sleep all her stress away. 

She tightly clutched the coin, her fingers sometimes caressing the lining and trailing on the flat surface, feeling the embedded stamp on it. Swindler couldn't deny that it felt stupid trying to return this coin and could've used it for herself. But, in that situation, she only felt that it was stupidly wrong. Understanding-wise, the money wasn't hers.

In the end, that high-struck moral was what got her into this problem to begin with. That, she couldn't accept nor deny. She stuffed the coin back into her pocket before glancing behind her shoulder. From what she remembered, Doctor and Brawler were in a separate room of the ruined building, Cutthroat was bathing in the rainwater _thankfully not entering her personal space and bothering her for the time being_ , and Hoodlum was aimlessly laying on the ground with nothing in mind. Brother and Sister were just huddled nearby her, the former securing his jacket across the latter to keep her warm.

The rain was about to subside from how it wasn't drenching the area harshly with droplets. Actually, she hadn't noticed where Courier went after she commented on his face looking like a hamster when eating his takoyaki. The sight still amused her even if it was for a short while. If she hadn't seen their capabilities, she wouldn't have believed these ragtag of criminals were even high-ranked Akudama.

Her expression dropped. Right... she was with Akudama on a mission she wasn't meant to be involved in. Keeping up the facade as the notorious "Swindler" who removed all traces of themselves from the Executioner's database. The only reason she's still walking around with her limbs in tact was because of that lie. She wouldn't been dead in more ways than one now that she thought back on that encounter.

Looking back on it, recalling it right, she could've left Courier to die to the giant robotic tank. The coin she placed back in her pocket popped into her mind. It was evidently the same thought that surged determination into her veins and thought of using Hoodlum as a distraction at the time.

She technically saved a criminal, but it wasn't like she wanted him pulverized. Still...

Was that the only reason?

She glanced back again at the separated group. Excluding the children they saved from the train in Shinkansen, they were a group of seven. Five notorious S-ranked Akudama, a D-ranked Hoodlum, and an Ordinary Person - herself.

And with Hacker gone, the group felt... incomplete in some way.

Maybe she's gotten soft with these people when she shouldn't have.

She leaned against the crumbled window sill with a forlorn expression and folded arms. Half of her face resting on her arms with her nose poked out. _How's Hacker doing on his own now?_ She thought. It was a temporary concern on her mind (after all, she promised to return his android back if they ever crossed paths again) before it strangely drifted back to Courier.

What was it with him that left her thoughtless to think, but somehow having room in her mind. They rarely had any conversations during the whole rundown of Shinkansen. Well, except for that particular one...

_It's where I belong._

Swindler's eyes squinted down at her arms. She wondered why that was. The man barely spoke unless it was in his initiative thought to speak. He never spoke unless it was important.

What did he mean by _it's where he belongs_ when he told her that? The female released a deep sigh from overthinking this question. Who was she kidding? This is Courier she's thinking about.

He only spoke when needed and never dragged it around. Short, simple words with depth.

He never started conversations unless it was-

"How long will you tag along?"

-involving his job...?

"Huh?"

The question, along with the person asking, startled her from her daydream. Leaning forward from the old sill, her eyes wandered to the built man against the wall next to her. Her apparent surprise never fazed him - just like everything else that's happened.

"Courier..." She drew his name, her tongue dry of what to say. Surprise was evident in her tone. How long had he been standing there? _Actually, how long had it stopped raining?_ She didn't even notice the clouds dispersing nor the raindrops disappearing.

She took note of his appearance, not a single drop of water in sight meaning the rain had cleared prior to him coming out on his own. Silence was his forte, that much she'd comment if asked what she thought of him, and the smoke he'd breathed was just as unnoticed. Her nose wanted to scrunch from the scent, yet strangely, she didn't. 

How hadn't she noticed the scent was inevitably a debate in whether she was pondering too deeply to notice or it's simply blended with the lingering scent of rain around.

Maybe she was just that oblivious to her surroundings. _Some high-classed Akudama she called herself to be, huh._

The cigarette fiddled between his metal fingers blurring smoke. His attention never drew to her despite calling her out. Actually, the fact he even started the conversation off with her was something unexpected. As she often recalled, he was reclusive and spoke when necessary. He never spoke out of line and needed very little to say what was meant. In short, he was blunt and never someone who trailed on with his words.

That's much said, she couldn't expect to turn away from the man. He, _too_ , was still an enigma in her mind. Also, his question still hung unanswered, that much was said. 

"How long? I wanna take them all the way to Expo Park." She said, as if stating the obvious. "I can't let kids that little go off on their own. In any case, it's not like I have much of a choice." Her words sounded less optimistic as it trailed off, her fingers brushing against the collar around her neck. She wondered how could this man act so calm with a thin thread clawed around his neck.

How less he cared for his life, yet the effort he pushed into getting their plans working. 

She wondered why that is...

"Say," Swindler spoke with a thought in mind. "Is there anything you value more than your own life?" Certainly, the question caught him intrigued, quirking a brow at her as he dropped the rolled up cylinder away from his lips.

"What do you mean?" He inquired. Her eyes lingered far too long on the rising smoke from the tobacco stick before tracing back to him. Did he notice? She wasn't entirely sure if she didn't mind. She hated the scent that cancerous roll of paper gave to begin with.

_Why doesn't she wince from it then?_

"For example, what if you had to give up your life to finish this job?" How stupid did she sound to him. Did it matter to her if it did? (To some degree, perhaps.) "Like, if you could run away and live, what would you do?"

"That's a shitty question... because I never fail." Of course, she expected no less.

 _Nevertheless, the_ slightest _bit of hope that he'd give her a better response fell._

"Penny for your thoughts?" She shook the down feeling off with a teasing smile. He never returned it. She didn't mind.

Silence was what she received. She expected no less from this either. Instead, she turned her focus forward, eyes drinking in the mesmerizing scenery. With the rain gone, there was this silence she couldn't describe. Maybe it was different in comparison to the loud busying streets of Kansai. Maybe it's the first time she'd get an actual view of a setting sun without the boisterous honking and chattering of cars and people ruining it.

The two basked in the ephemeral silence along with the quiet hues of pink and orange glaring over their forms. Staring into the unbelievable beauty of light, Swindler stared awestruck at the casting sun. Truly, it was a sight to behold. A smile settled freely at the refreshing sight.

If she could go back to the city, back as an Ordinary Person than the fake alias Swindler, after the whole trouble is over and done with, then maybe she'd keep a photographic memory of this moment. That would be enough.

Subconsciously, she glanced sideways to the older male.

His purple hues took a quick glimpse of the nosy girl before settling his sights back on the scenery before him. Was it her imagination? Thoughts lurking on about the male, something clicked in her mind in realization. Something she'd finally have a chance to do.

"Oh," Swindler paused as she grabbed something from her pocket: the cause of all her problems, "speaking of which..." Stretching her palm out towards him was the same 500 yen he dropped not too long ago. _She brought it all the way with her? What a weird one, she was._ "Here. I'm giving back the 500 yen you dropped at the takoyaki place."

"Nope. Dropped money's bad luck." Courier coolly, and quickly, responded. 

"C'mon, just take it!" She insisted, her voice indicating the exasperation she felt from him. "This 500 yen got me into this mess-" Swindler stopped herself, tongue tied for a second. Eyes widened at what almost escaped her lips as she lifted her free hand over her mouth.

The hesitation didn't slip from Courier's ears. She picked up that fact just by looking at him. "Hmm?"

"Forget it." She waved off a bit too frantically, raising the hand with the coin to his face. "Just take it!"

He looked away. "Nope. I only take money when accepting a job."

"Ugh, so stubborn! Take it!"

"Nope."

"Take it already!"

"Nope."

"Hey! Where are you going?!" She was left flabbergasted. Her voice become muffled through his ears when he focused on exhaling another puff of smoke. His footsteps crunched onto whatever he was stepping on in this thrashed up place.

His responses short and abrupt.

His cigarette callously tweezed between his metallic fingers.

His scent reeked off lingering raindrops and smoke.

His purple orbs tearing away from stubborn, hopeful pink ones.

A smile never settled on his face. Never has, never will. Yet, she could've sworn the corner of his lips tilted up - _just the slightest._

She only stared after him from her place; she stayed silent.

The scent of smoke that lingered from his cigarette grazing her nose didn't faze her thoughts anymore.


	2. Sounds Within Smoke and Rain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Courier's point of view. some spoilers for episode 10(slightly) and 11!! dont read if you haven't seen it yet!

His purple orbs scoffed at her bright, hopeful pink ones.

If memories served right, she was the girl from the takoyaki stand. The naive one who picked up the spare 500 yen that dropped from his pocket and onto the ground. When she attempted to return it to him, he flat out refused to accept it. He wasn't going to let another unlucky coincidence get in his way again.

Not after what it did to his mother and his right arm.

Courier clicked his tongue silently. That was all in the past now. Nothing he could do about it from just remembering an unfortunate event in his life. Some would say it was just bad luck - and maybe it was - it doesn't change the fact that he'd take another pointless risk like that again. It was definitely bad luck, which was why he wouldn't repeat that pitiful mistake again.

His thoughts began clearing up when his attention went towards the sky, the clouds parting ways just as the sun set. He had a distaste for everything around him. There's no reason behind any of these dislikes. It's just an opinion he cared less about.

Digging into his pocket, he pulled out the small box and slide it open. His prosthetic fingers tugged one of the cigarette out and placed it in between his lips. He stuffed the container back and pulled out a lighter from the same pocket. Hand slightly curving over the end of the stick, the fire flicked from the lighter and softly lit the end up. He allowed himself to breathe in the putrid air before taking it out (already putting away the lighter beforehand) and blowing out smoke.

A stress reliever - he couldn't bother with people and things around him. The whole mission was stressful, especially when he's forced to comply by these anonymous children. The collar around his neck was a reminder of such things.

Then again, he's getting paid more than he's bargained for. As long as he's getting his reward from this whole damn thing-

His ears perked up somewhat by the loud groan-mixed sigh from his left. From the corner of his eye, he glimpse over at that girl - Swindler, she called herself - leaning against the windowsill. Her expressions were easily noted from how outward she was: stress, tired, and in thought.

Courier was skeptical; he has every doubt and proof to be. He wasn't ignorant either, but he thought to play along. It wasn't his business after all. His eyes shifted back to the setting sun.

He was surprised by how dumb she was for not noticing him still standing by.

He was a man of a few words. That much was obvious.

He couldn't bother with conversations that didn't benefit him.

Yet, "how long will you tag along?"

He spoke out of his free will. It wasn't intended, but it was spurred from a feeling. Curiosity? What a load of bull crap he thought.

The girl in her early 20s yelped in surprise, as though realizing his presence. It was amusing to say the least. His face didn't seem to express it if that was the case. Her voice whispered his name in realization after she calmed, her eyes glancing over to the sky before down at him. How oblivious she must be.

Her appearance wasn't as outlandish as most, or notable for an Akudama(then again, who was he to judge). Nothing off about her clothes screamed out "Swindler" at all and her personality didn't help in the slightest. Maybe if he hadn't met her beforehand at the takoyaki stand, he wouldn't have been this doubtful. Even so it wasn't his concern. It was simple curiosity.

She spoke about bringing the children all the way to Expo Park - sounding determined as ever - as she glanced down, despondent by the collar around her neck. Ah yes, the bomb equipped around their necks to assure they wouldn't ditch the mission without consequence. He couldn't forget about that. 

For the most part, he wasn't going to say anything afterwards. He just wanted an answer to his question and the intrigued part of him was now satisfied. Yet, she still went through her way to ask him something. Something peculiar.

"Is there anything you value more than your own life?"

That question caused him to raise a brow.

She tried explaining the question in further detail, something along the lines of him giving up his life in order to finish his job. Or running away in order to live than to complete it. Honestly, why did he bother himself about whether she was an Akudama or not.

She was a breath of fresh air to speak though. Probably the most sane out of the others (with Hacker now gone) and relatively better company than most.

That doesn't mean he's all for it.

He answered her with his typical response.

"That's a shitty question... because I never fail." It felt too obvious. His cool expression didn't hint the slightest at any hesitation other than the truth. The girl chuckled, the answer expected from how easy she took it.

Instead of mentioning anything else when she ended the conversation, his attention focused on her distracted face.

The two basked in the ephemeral silence along with the quiet hues of pink and orange glaring over their forms. The sight was too overrated, and uninteresting, in his opinion. Staring into the unbelievable beauty of light, Swindler stared awestruck at the casting sun; Courier couldn't bother with the sun when her face radiated brighter.

His eye twitched at the thought.

_What was that thought suppose to mean._

Feelings weren't necessary - as his reminder in life would know - especially when it involved his job. He's an Akudama; that's all there is to know. A wanted criminal by the Kansai government who'll be given his sentence of 745 years if caught. But who's to say the day will come? He never fails at his job.

What he thought wasn't entirely wrong, however, that he won't deny (unless he said it aloud, then yes, he'll deny every ounce of it and say it's a slipup). Such optimism and energy for someone like her. No matter how panicked she was nor how afraid she was, she seemed pretty motivated to bring these unusual kids to their destination. Unfortunately, it was something he admired. Maybe that would explain why he backed her up against Doctor.

Surprisingly, for a swindler, she wasn't doing this for the money.

Then again, was she truly an Akudama?

He might as well believe she was doing this out of the goodness of her heart. That felt way more believable than wanting the billion yen at the end of this mission.

Courier immediately directed his gaze towards the sun once he noticed the shift in her form. Fuck, was he almost caught staring? Darn his curiosity. He fiddled around with the cigarette still in his fingers, distracting himself by the unpleasant smoke mixed with the rain.

He turned his head back to Swindler again when she called out to him. Digging her hand into her dress' pocket and bringing it out, uncurling her fingers to reveal-

_What?_

His eyes widened a slight fraction but only for a second. Quick enough to not be noticed. She still had the 500 yen coin. _Dumbass._

That crap was bad luck. He vividly remembered telling her this when she attempted to give it back to him. It was definitely the reason why she ended up here in the first place. And she thought he'd accept it after going through all that to give it back to _him_? Shits for brain.

"Nope. Dropped money's bad luck," he reminded her what he thought of it. The thought never changed.

"C'mon, just take it!" She insisted. Why was she so stubborn? - he did note the small slip of the tongue she did before she continued pushing the coin to him. His answer remained the same.

"Nope." He didn't want to stick around playing like a broken record player anymore. The purple-haired Akudama pushed himself off of the wall and walked away from the girl. Her voice was extraordinarily loud enough for him to hear, exaggerating for him to come back. He didn't listen nor glanced back at her, of course.

"Hey! Where are you going?! Lemme pay you back!"

He ignored her protests. Instead, he focused on returning to his ride that was parked elsewhere. Not too far from the group, but far enough to not be bothered by them.

Her loud and expressive voice.

Her heart worn on her sleeve.

Her contented smile from merely looking at a scenery he couldn't care about.

Her pink orbs burning through the back of his skull to see his cold, stoic purple ones.

Her words were loud like the thundering rain from then, but he'd rather hear her voice than the rain. It wasn't as much of a nuisance as it was when he first heard it.

Emotions weren't essential when it came to work and shouldn't be involved in it, but he must admit, he _might've_ grown comfortable with her presence over time. An ordinary person who wasn't an Akudama travelling among them. He didn't care about them, that wasn't his mission, that wasn't what his job was for.

As he approached his bike, his hand stilled on the ride's hood. Was he growing... attach? No, that was stupid. A shitty assumption. It, however, strangely felt relieving that he was. It was stupid, but not bad.

He shook his head. 

_She was a weird one_...

She _still_ is.

Courier blinked from the strange nostalgia from that time. His focus wasn't on the snow falling over their heads. His focus was on reuniting Sister back with Brother. A groan was pushed back down his throat at how stupid this was. Originally just given one task by Brother to return a special item to Sister, he didn't expect himself to do this.

...all because of Swindler.

This time, a true S-ranked Akudama.

He could hear her chiding the small girl about falling off if she released her hold on him (he could imagine the large pout on her face as she was scolded) and, frankly, this was ridiculous. The whole situation was ridiculous.

He hadn't expected to do more than necessary.

He wasn't expecting anything different after the cruddy mission.

He wasn't expecting... _her_.

He hadn't expected her to take a whole new appearance - not that he cared all too much about it - when he was delivering under Brother's desperate wishes. He hadn't expected her to bargain with him about some measly mission without a price in return. But what surprised him the most...

_This is the only place I belong!_

The same words, though not precisely, he used when she was asking him those petty questions back before the heist on Shinkansen. The question from that day under the rain's aftermath lurked back into his thoughts too. She had teased him earlier about remembering the pointless question prior to the snowfall, which brought him to calling her shit.

Well, she was shit.

Some shit who provoked some feelings in his chest.

Courier focused back on the road instead of this nonsense feud of thoughts in his mind. He exceeded the bike's fuel, gaining speed as they got closer to Shinkansen.

Once this mission was over, he'll (try) need to forget about her... if he felt like it.

_Shitty girl with a rotten mouth, she is._


End file.
